Labour market Still fees-ible? The future and funding of higher education in England Tuesday 12 September 2017 A controversial policy when introduced in 1998, tuition fees for higher education in England have remained a contentious issue. But the debate about their future and the implications for the quantity and quality of higher education in England has reached new heights in recent months. As new undergraduates arrive at universities in the coming weeks there are big … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Inequality in the UK: speech to the Resolution Foundation by Vince Cable MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats Wednesday 6 September 2017 There is a vast gap between the living standards of the better and least well off in the UK. Under the surface, there are also stark generational and regional divides. Recently widening wealth inequality is now one of the greatest challenges facing the country. Seven decades after the foundation of the welfare state, why are … Continued READ MORE
Living standards City limits: How the UK’s industrial strategy can share living standards gains Monday 10 July 2017 Speech by Business Secretary Greg Clark MP Industrial strategy is back in fashion, at a national and City-region level. And with deep geographic inequalities an unwanted feature of the UK economy, a new focus on tackling these divides is welcome. How can attracting new investment into cities boost living standards? Does the local population benefit … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Minimum entry: Setting a legal wage floor for the gig economy Tuesday 4 July 2017 With Adair Turner, Chairman of the Institute for New Economic Thinking and ex-Chair of the Low Pay Commission The rapid rise of self-employment has been the biggest jobs story of the last decade. For some, it represents the best of our flexible labour market and entrepreneurial spirit. For others, it represents a new way to … Continued READ MORE
Living standards After Piketty: Tackling 21st century inequality at home and abroad Wednesday 28 June 2017 Thomas Piketty’s landmark book Capital in the Twenty-First Century helped bring the issue of what drives inequality from academia to the heart of political and economic debate in the UK, Europe and the US. The book’s lasting impact has been to trigger a range of wider debates about the new age of inequality it identified. But what, … Continued READ MORE
Housing· Intergenerational Centre The wealth of our nation Who owns what in 21st century Britain Tuesday 20 June 2017 Launch of major work programme on wealth across Britain for the Intergenerational Commission The wealth we accumulate, spend and pass on is too often the forgotten side of big national debates on inequality and living standards, where questions of day to day income dominate. A full lifetime view of our living standards needs to put … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Britain at a crossroads: shaping the nation’s post-Brexit labour market Monday 12 June 2017 Joint Resolution Foundation and CBI Labour Market Conference Britain’s labour market is at a crossroads, with Brexit, globalisation and the march of technology set to fundamentally change the world of work over the coming years. Planning for these changes should be top of the new government and British businesses’ to do list. What will Brexit … Continued READ MORE
Housing A family affair: The transfer of wealth across generations Tuesday 30 May 2017 From the establishment of primogeniture to the Bank of Mum & Dad the transfer of wealth across generations is both an ancient and very modern issue in Britain. With wealth increasingly concentrated among older generations, the issue of wealth transfers is rising up the political agenda. The desire for families to pass wealth onto the … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Grave new world: globalisation in retreat? Wednesday 24 May 2017 UK book launch of Grave New World: The End of Globalisation and the Return of Economic Conflict by Stephen D. King The reach of globalisation has extended rapidly in recent decades. While many economists have long seen it as the best route to economic prosperity, recent political events have shattered any consensus that deeper globalisation … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Everlasting care: Andrew Dilnot lecture on a lasting solution to the social care crisis Thursday 6 April 2017 Britain’s social care system is in crisis and its long-term future remains in doubt. Welcome additional funding was announced at the Budget, but everyone agrees we need long-term and lasting reform rather than endless sticking plasters. That is the purpose of the government’s upcoming Green Paper. But will it take us back to the drawing board … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Up to the job? Using the Apprenticeship Levy to tackle the UK’s post-16 education divide Tuesday 4 April 2017 The biggest change for in-work skills policy for decades is about to be implemented with the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy this April. The new levy and associated reforms aim to drive up the quantity of training, and in so doing to tackle both our low productivity and failure to offer sufficient high quality routes … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Radicalism not rabbits? How should the Chancellor approach his last ever Spring Budget Tuesday 28 February 2017 The Chancellor is approaching his first, and last, Spring Budget with little having changed in the three months since his Autumn Statement. What the Chancellor says may take precedence over what the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts – a rare event in recent years. Should the Chancellor use the relatively stable outlook to deliver a … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Young, gifted and slack? Unblocking the career barriers for millennials Thursday 23 February 2017 Speech by Employment Minister Damian Hinds The UK jobs market has surpassed all expectations in recent years, with employment reaching a record high at the start of 2016 and staying there for the rest of the year. But this success has not been spread equally. While over-50s have accounted for two-thirds of net jobs growth, … Continued READ MORE
Labour market A tough gig. Can policy keep pace with a changing workplace? Monday 20 February 2017 From the rise of the gig economy and self-employment, to zero-hours contracts and agency work the modern workplace is changing rapidly. But the policy response to these huge shifts – from employment rights to the taxation of profits and pay – has been slow to catch up. Where does policy need to change to reflect … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Intergenerational Centre 21st Century inequality: The new divisions between and within generations Monday 13 February 2017 Much of the post-war inequality debate has focused on the gap between rich and poor. But while income inequality recently hit a 30-year low, living standards differences between young and old have been rising up the economic and political agenda. To what extent has age replaced class as the big division in Britain today? Are … Continued READ MORE
Living standards A tale of four cities Thursday 26 January 2017 Resolution Foundation city events programme In the wake of Brexit and as we look toward the first ever Metro mayoral elections next May, England’s cities are in the spotlight. From the Northern Powerhouse to the Midlands Engine and beyond, the future of our economy will depend on the strength of our cities and their surrounding … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living Standards across the South Yorkshire Metro Area Thursday 19 January 2017 In the wake of Brexit and as we look toward the first ever Metro mayoral elections this May, England’s cities are in the spotlight. From the Northern Powerhouse to the Midlands Engine and beyond, the future of our economy will depend on the strength of our cities. But there are huge economic inequalities both between … Continued READ MORE
Monetary policy· Labour market New Year, New Labour market? What does 2017 have to offer – Keynote speech by MPC member Michael Saunders Friday 13 January 2017 Rapid employment growth and historically low inflation have been the bedrock of a strong recovery in household incomes in recent years. However, both started to tail off towards the end of 2016 and are unlikely to re-emerge soon. Meanwhile a major fall in the value of the pound looks set to drive up inflation during … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Temporary fix or lasting problem? Monday 5 December 2016 Launch of Resolution Foundation investigation into agency work From the gig economy to record self-employment, new forms of atypical work have grabbed the headlines. Meanwhile others, such as agency work, have slipped below the radar. Sports Direct’s use of zero hour contracts in their stores was big news, but the exploitation of agency staff at … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Obama’s economic record and the challenges ahead Thursday 17 November 2016 As President Obama prepares to hand over to President-Elect Trump the American economy is in a far healthier position than when he took on the Presidency in the wake of the global financial crisis – though big challenges remain. What have been Obama’s greatest economic successes and challenges throughout his time in office? What did … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances A Universal Credit Crunch? How to support just managing families in the Autumn Statement Monday 7 November 2016 Record employment and strong real wage growth against a backdrop of historically low inflation served to boost living standards in 2016, while a big increase in the minimum wage and the reversal of planned cuts to tax credits protected those on modest incomes. But the outlook for pay and employment growth has weakened in the … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Taxing times: Does a new government mean a new tax policy? Wednesday 2 November 2016 Raising the personal allowance and reducing corporation tax were two signature plans of the last parliament, and the new Chancellor has inherited plans to go even further. But with fewer people paying tax, and businesses paying lower rates of tax, is our tax system fit for purpose to fund public services and reduce the deficit? … Continued READ MORE
Living standards City living on the eve of devolution Thursday 20 October 2016 Which cities have seen rising living standards and who has benefited? Major cities across England are about to be given new economic powers and new leadership through democratically-elected Metro Mayors as the latest phase of devolution takes place. But are cities the engines of growth, or the engines of intra-city inequality? What are the big … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Pay day? Tackling Britain’s longstanding low pay problems Tuesday 18 October 2016 Keynote speech from Business Minister Margot James Britain has among the highest proportion of low paid workers in any advanced economy – a record that has barely changed in 20 years. The National Living Wage will transform the countries’ low pay landscape and boost the pay of around six million workers. But will plans to … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances One nation divided? The challenge for Britain beyond Brexit Thursday 22 September 2016 The recent referendum exposed huge fractures across Britain that went far deeper than voters’ attitudes towards the EU. From immigration to whether the gains from growth were reaching their community, voters’ concerns stretched well beyond the remit of our relationship with Brussels. With the task of bringing the nation together again falling upon the new … Continued READ MORE
